We talk about a lot of things here on
Gadget Addiction. Things that are close to us, things that makes us feel cool,
hip, and ‘with it.’ But now it’s time to talk about those things that do the
opposite. I’m referring to those things called kids.* And in respect to them we need to think about the ways in which technology has made our lives safer and more secure but more importantly we need to think about how its made life scarier and more creepy. It’s the responsibility of every decent
god-fearing parent to protect and coddle their children from the potential
dangers of the widow-maker that is this modern world. Cell phones should be
doled out solely to track the whereabouts of your little ones and car keys
should only be dispensed if they somehow limit teenagers from actually driving.
Wait…what? Ford recently announced that the all new 2010 Ford Focus will come
with a new fangled electronic governor that will actually inhibit the
(presumably teenage) driver from playing loud music or speeding (or, god-forbid, doing both at the same time!)
The naming scheme for this little device
continues the individualistic trend (see iPod et al) with the moniker MyKey.
Presumably this is so that when you hand them off you can tell your son or
daughter ‘So long as they’re MyKeys, I get to pick MySpeed and MyVolume.’
Parents can set a maximum speed of 129 kilometres an hour (80mph) and a volume
setting that is half that of the systems full force. The speed was chosen based
on certain states having an 80mph speed limit. However the conversion into
Canadian-speed has it higher than any provincial limits.
The new MyKey program is set to be a standard
feature on the 2010 Focus.
Ford, being the wiley folks that they are, anticipated a backlash from that
ineligible voting demographic ‘teenagers.’ They found a 63% disapproval rating
among teens in respect to the MyKey system. Tough love for some. And incessant
beeping for the adventurous, as apparently the system can be set to ‘chime’
when different speeds are reached, so as to caution drivers of their
acceleration techniques.
Ah the future…
*And no, I’m not referring to young goats,
see link
